Since its invention, the telephone has become increasingly accessible to an ever increasing segment of the population. Pay telephones facilitate the use of telephones on demand. Pay telephones may be found on streets and highways, in shopping malls, in restaurants and numerous other public establishments. Pay telephones are located in so many places that their presence if often taken for granted. Deregulation of the telephone industry has also made the service of providing pay telephones to the public a competitive business. There are currently a number of companies that place or lease pay telephones to various establishments. Typically, after arrangements have been made with the establishment owner, the pay telephone provider then installs a pay telephone at predetermined locations on the premises.
There are several well-known arrangements which may be used to mount or hold pay telephones, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,399 and in the assignee's co-pending design application entitled "Pay Telephone Enclosure", Ser. No. 200,083, filed May 27, 1988. A pay telephone may, for example, be simply mounted to a wall or post without any kind of housing or enclosure. Alternatively, a simple kind of housing may be provided around the telephone mounted to a wall or post. This housing may comprise partial panels to allow the caller a small measure of privacy, and/or may comprise a shelf to hold a telephone directory or provide a writing surface. The partial panels may protrude from the wall or post for a short distance past the front of the phone. One such simple housing may comprise a rectangular housing with top, bottom and side partial panels.
Another type of housing or enclosure is the well known telephone booth. The typical design of a booth comprises four walls, ceiling and perhaps a door. The booth itself may be mounted to a wall or post, or may stand alone. The telephone may be mounted along one of the walls of the booth or in one of the corners of the booth. At least a portion of one of the walls may be made of a glass or transparent material to provide visual access to the interior of the booth. These types of housings provide a large degree of privacy for those making the phone calls, especially if a door is provided. A shelf may also be provided to hold a telephone directory and to provide a writing surface. However, the typical booth requires a great deal of floor space which can limit the number of pay phone installations.
Further, a pay telephone housing may provide a number of different functions besides only housing a pay telephone. One such additional function may be an aesthetic function. Although pay telephone housings are not always considered "artworks," it is often desirable to design furniture and other functional fixtures to be aesthetically pleasing. For example, pay telephone housings of various colors are known.
This aesthetic function may also provide a pay telephone owner with a competitive advantage. Specifically, in a situation where a potential telephone caller must choose between one of several pay telephones, each such pay telephone owned by someone else, the potential telephone caller may be attracted to the telephone in the more attractive housing. Similarly, a potential pay telephone buyer/lessor may choose to deal with the pay telephone provider which offers the more aesthetic housings.
Since the areas in which the pay telephones are normally installed vary in physical dimensions, it is considered desirable to provide pay telephone structures that can be arranged with maximum flexibility. However, existing pay telephone enclosures provide only limited flexibility in this regard.
Another function that a pay telephone housing may have is as an advertising tool. Examples of such housings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Des. No. 263,102 and Des. No. 263,264. The housing may have specific components that are directed to advertising. For example, the housing can include an electronic display positioned for viewing by the telephone callers, by passersby or both. An example of such a display is disclosed in the assignee's co-pending application entitled "Public Consumer Communication and Information System", Ser. No. 199,483, filed May 27, 1988. The ability of the housing to function as an advertising tool may also influence the revenue generated by the pay telephone. Advertising revenue may defray the cost of the pay telephone or generate revenue which would not otherwise be derived. One of the disadvantages of current pay telephone enclosures is that it is difficult and expensive to change the advertising components periodically.
One concern for owners of pay telephones with housings is maintenance. Pay telephones and housings typically undergo a great deal of wear and tear due to placement in public places. Also, since pay telephones are often located in a public area in which vandalism is a concern, therefore, repair and maintenance of the housing is an important consideration. Further, quick and easy maintenance cuts costs for the owner of the pay telephone and the housing.
Costs to the pay telephone provider can also be reduced when the design of the housing allows for quick setup and takedown. Since the pay telephone enclosures are generally set up when the lease contract for the pay telephone begins and taken down when the lease contract for the pay telephone is ended, it is an advantage to provide a readily installable housing.